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June 16, 2007

A HAWK TOOK FLIGHT: STORIES BEHIND THE SONGS OF BRIAN THOMASListen to the song here.

A wedding is a special event, especially when you have watched the relationship grow from a small beginning into a lifelong commitment. This wedding was one I was not going to miss, even though it was halfway across the country in a little town south of Winnipeg called Winkler, Manitoba. I had barely enough gas money to get there, and I didn't know how I was going to pay for the trip home, let alone buy food for the journey, let alone pay my rent when I returned, yet I was determined nonetheless not to miss this beautiful occasion.

But there are remnants left around me… very strange remnants… in this case the Anglican Church which has in it some of the ancient truth and therefore I will live within it. - George Grant

The English Reformation took more than a century from beginning to end, and when the end was reached, the Anglican Tradition had both a solid and sane Prayer Book, and a sensible and sound theological grounding. The Anglican Church of Canada and the Anglican Communion, I suspect, can learn much from the English Reformation.

The 1st phase of the English Reformation began when John Colet lectured on Romans in 1496 at Oxford University. The Oxford Reformers (Colet, Erasmus, More) saw deeper than most the need for reform, and how a wise notion of reform could and would take place. The publication of the Enchiridion (1501), by Erasmus, pointed the way, in both a theological and political sense, to the meaning of reform. The Oxford Reformers were, in many ways, the morning stars of the English Reformation.

June 13, 2007

I linger in the doorwayreluctant to step over the thresholdHe stands before meHis hand held out in invitation‘come, Dear One, I’ll show you the way’I take His hand and He leads me into the unknowninto the silence, into the darknessever deeper into the emptinessmy heart poundsI’m afraidcan this be right?I thought being a God-follower meant being led into light
and joy and freedom‘trust Me’, He whisperswe stop for a moment, a pause on our descentHe takes both my hands and He looks into my faceits not necessary to speak, His eyes say it all‘its going to be alright Fi’He breathes, I breatheHe waits ‘til calm comesthen we walk on, hand in handinto the sorrow, into the heartacheever deeper into the emptiness

June 06, 2007

A
few months ago I was fortunate enough to hear Mike Stewart from St. Matts, give
a talk on suffering. He asked us ‘have
you got room in your theology for suffering?’ So here was the challenge; suffering and sadness is a part of life, but
do we have a Christianity which can embrace it. It really got me thinking and remembering my nursing days. I was a nurse for 14 years. The last 8 years of that was spent working as
a registered nurse in a hospice. We
cared for people with terminal cancer and just a few with AIDS. About half of them died with us, and half of
them went home. It was a part of the
British National Health service and was therefore by no means a Christian
setting. The patients and their families
taught me most of what I will share with you now on the subject of grief.

Grief
is a very important part of life. We all
experience it. It’s a God given gift,
designed by Him so that we not only survive life’s trials and sufferings, but
we also grow through them.